Theme Parks

The days when parents could drop kids off at Disneyland for the day, leaving it up to Mickey and Goofy to watch over the youngsters, are over. Walt Disney Co. has unveiled a new admission policy requiring that children entering any of its U.S.-based theme parks be accompanied by a visitor at least 14 years old. In years past, parents living near theme parks would often use them as day-care facilities during summer vacation and spring break....

CARLSBAD, Calif. - The Legoland Hotel, which opened April 5, got plenty of little things wrong in its first weeks. But its designers got one thing enormously right, and that will make this place a screaming success: kid-centricity. "The dragon is made out of Legos!" my daughter, Grace, who is about to turn 9, said as we approached the hotel entrance a week after the opening. Inside the lobby, Grace; my wife, Mary Frances; and I found a faux fountain, a play pit full of little plastic bricks and dozens of deeply absorbed children who were collaborating on a rainbow-hued monolith, constructing pretend weapons, hollering, whispering, running, jumping and dragging their parents from one discovery to the next.

If you're thinking of visiting a Disney park in Anaheim this summer, be warned that the price is about to jump by between $7 and $150 depending on the ticket deal. The annual summer price hike for tickets to Disneyland and the Disney California Adventure Park were announced Friday and take effect Sunday. For example, a ticket for one day at either Disneyland or California Adventure had cost $80 for parkgoers who are 10 or older. The new price, starting Sunday, will be $87, up nearly 9%. The biggest increase will hit people who buy the premium annual pass that includes parking.

During a honeymoon trip to Los Angeles, Chris Hansen and his new wife, Shoni, decided not to skimp on their visit to Universal Studios Hollywood. They booked a pricey tour for the theme park that included a buffet lunch, an escort to the front of the line of every ride and a behind-the-scene visit to the property and wardrobe departments on the studio's television and movie lot. The experience set the couple back $299 each, compared with the regular $80 admission price. But they didn't complain.

Workers at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park took photos of visitors entering the parks Tuesday as part of a new crackdown on abuse of multiday passes. The photographing of guests - including children - delayed visitors' getting into the park by about 45 minutes, parkgoers said. "They delayed literally thousands of people in line to do this process," said Bob Shoberg, a San Jose resident who visited Disneyland with his wife, daughters, in-laws and grandchildren.

The brief announcement that Disney plans to add a Marvel-themed land to Hong Kong Disneyland in 2017 raises a host of questions: Will Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men be getting their own rides? When will the Marvel characters be coming to Anaheim, Paris, Tokyo or Shanghai? And why, of all places, Hong Kong? Many of the most basic questions remain unanswered, in part because the announcement was made by a Hong Kong government official rather than Disney.

Winter always gets me thinking about going to theme parks in Southern California, even if I don't have visitors underfoot. The prospect of cooler temperatures and lighter crowds in February and March sends me looking for discounts on the high cost of tickets. I found that the Southern California CityPass -- with a flat rate for admission to Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Universal Studios Hollywood and SeaWorld San Diego -- offers good savings, even when compared with incentives for SoCal residents.

Thrill seekers will have to wait a little longer for a big new ride as Knott's Berry Farm unveiled plans for a trio of family attractions in 2013 aimed at bridging the gap in the Buena Park theme park's collection of kiddie and extreme rides. > Photos: A trio of family rides coming to Knott's in 2013 Knott's plans to add a wild mouse coaster, a flying scooter and a classic scrambler ride in summer 2013 to the Boardwalk section of the park, reusing a man-made lake left over from a water ride removed to make room for the new additions.

At first I thought it was too early to look ahead at the new attractions coming to U.S. theme parks in 2013, but then I realized a number of big rides have already been announced and many more are already in the planning stages. > Photos: Most anticipated new U.S. theme park rides for 2013 It already seems like 2013 is shaping up as a good year for ride enthusiasts and theme park fans. Big industry players have announced major projects, and several smaller parks are planning to roll out significant additions.

The Los Angeles Times Funland blog covers news, trends, issues and changes at major amusement and theme parks as well as the latest information on new rides, attractions, shows, parades and Halloween events. Funland categories: Theme Parks | Disneyland | Disney California Adventure | Disney World | Universal Studios | Six Flags | Knott's Berry Farm | New Rides & Attractions | Roller Coasters | Photo Galleries | Top 10s | Most Popular Stories | Celebrities | Halloween | Wizarding World of Harry Potter Contact Los Angeles Times theme park blogger Brady MacDonald at brady (dot)

This summer, a Belgian theme park will add an $8-million Viking land based on a television cartoon and movie series with two rides and a restaurant set in a lakeside village. The 12-acre Vicky the Viking themed land will be built on the location of a former theater at Belgium's Plopsaland De Panne, located along the North Sea about 90 minutes west of Brussels. A clever but timid 10-year-old boy who lives in a Viking village, Vicky is the star of a German-Austrian television cartoon series and the "Wickie the Viking" live-action films.

Travelers can go rolling on a river without leaving land at a new theme park that opened this week in Singapore . River Safari, the newest addition to Wildlife Reserves Singapore , showcases eight of the world's best known river habitats, including those of the Mississippi, Nile, Mekong, Yangtze and Amazon rivers. The park is home to 5,000 animals, including one of the world's largest collections of freshwater animals. “We look forward to bringing visitors up close to the fascinating wildlife that live in river habitats, which are disappearing faster than forest and marine environments,” said Claire Chiang, chair of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

It's safe to say the Kitt Super Jet boat ride set to open Friday at Italy's Movieland ranks as the craziest and strangest theme park attraction debuting anywhere in the world this summer. Photos: Kitt Super Jet boat ride at Italy's Movieland The one-of-a-kind ride at the movie studio theme park outside Verona combines the extreme tourism of jet boating popularized in New Zealand with a theme based on the 1980s "Knight Rider" TV show starring David Hasselhoff and an artificially intelligent crime-fighting car named Kitt.

Is the Walt Disney Co. considering adding a "Star Wars"-themed land at one of its parks in Anaheim? That question has been on the lips of Disneyland guests and annual pass holders who in the past few weeks began receiving a survey by Disney, asking them about their interest in "Star Wars. " On Twitter, at least one Disney guest posted a screen grab of the survey, which asked: "How interested would you be in visiting a Star Wars themed land at Disneyland Resort?" Other questions included: "Which Star Wars characters would you definitely not want to see or meet in person?"

The gig: Tim Burkhart, 54, is corporate vice president of maintenance and construction for Six Flags Entertainment Corp. , the parent company of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia and 17 other parks in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Burkhart's resume is pretty short. He has spent his entire career at Six Flags, starting in 1977 when he was in high school and worked as a ride operator on Revolution, the first looping roller coaster. It was meant to be a temporary job to raise money for some senior-year fun. Instead, Burkhart said, he fell in love with the park and its employees.

The days when parents could drop kids off at Disneyland for the day, leaving it up to Mickey and Goofy to watch over the youngsters, are over. Walt Disney Co. has unveiled a new admission policy requiring that children entering any of its U.S.-based theme parks be accompanied by a visitor at least 14 years old. In years past, parents living near theme parks would often use them as day-care facilities during summer vacation and spring break....

Alhambra secretary Laurie Casado struggles each year to buy Disneyland annual passes for herself and her family, so the park's announcement last week that it was jacking up prices by up to 30% wasn't exactly good news. But Casado will buy the passes anyway and cut out something else. "I'll keep going because Disney is a big part of our lives," said Casado, who buys annual passes for her husband, daughter and two grandsons, ages 4 and 5. "But the price increase is so disheartening.

DreamWorks Animation SKG is licensing its movie characters for various theme parks being developed in Russia, an increasingly important market for the Glendale-based studio. The creator of the "Shrek," "Madagascar" and "Kung Fu Panda" franchises said it had signed a licensing agreement with Regions Group of Companies, which is developing what is billed as Europe's largest indoor theme parks. Regions says it's the fourth-largest retail property owner in Russia. The parks, scheduled to open in 2015, would be located in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Yekaterinburg and include various attractions based on DreamWorks characters.

All Disney theme parks in the U.S., including Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park, will soon require that youngsters entering the parks be accompanied by someone at least 14 years old. The new admission policy takes effect March 23. Disney officials said the change was not made in response to a particular incident. Disney's admission policy has varied from park to park and Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said the company decided to adopt a consistent policy throughout its theme parks.

A $12-million roller coaster at a Scandinavian theme park will take riders on an off-road trek aboard all-terrain vehicles through a Mayan jungle in search of lost treasure. Photos: Juvelen launch coaster at Djurs Sommerland The dual-launch coaster themed to look like 4x4 quads is set to debut May 4 at Djurs Sommerland in Denmark. Juvelen, Danish for jewel, will take coaster riders on a four-wheeler journey in a hunt for lost gemstones. Reaching speeds of 50 mph along 3,330 feet of track, the ATV-style coaster trains will travel through a jungle setting dotted with waterfalls, stone totems and Mayan temples.